The presentation showed an integrated optimization solution for the design of such systems. The input to the design procedure is an audit of the air usage pattern and the user defined requirements of the compressed air system. A multi objective optimiser proposes a design solution. It generates candidate system configurations with alternative equipment, minimises, on-the-fly, the energy use of these using a SIMULINK simulator, computes predicted lifecycle cost, and selects the configuration which meets the specifications and gives the lowest 10 year life-cycle cost.